Bengaluru: Students of around 430 govt first-grade colleges — facing a shortage of guest faculty — are in panic mode. With exams fast approaching, full-fledged classes are yet to start in many colleges. A meeting between minister of higher education MC Sudhakar and law minister HK Patil on the issue was inconclusive Friday.

In 2018, University Grants Commission had mandated that only teachers with NET/SET/SLET/PhD be appointed as guest faculty. With this, the govt removed around 5,000 lecturers who were to be appointed as guest faculty. Many of them, with decades of teaching experience, decided to move court.

The high court directed the department of collegiate education to ensure complete compliance with the minimum qualification prescribed by UGC for guest lecturers. Related cases are still sub judice, leaving the govt in a fix over appointments.

There are around 11,000 lecturer posts in these colleges. Last year, 9,000 guest lecturers were appointed. This year, the maximum strength of each division was reduced to 75 students instead of 100, thus creating more posts. Colleges relying mostly on guest faculties are facing a crisis as appointments are yet to happen.

“In our college, BA classes are being held daily and BCom classes to some extent. But BBA and BCA classes are not as they are completely dependent on guest faculty. Only language teachers are taking classes for those courses,” said a student from a college in Peenya.

“Students come to college, but many of them leave by lunch. There are no classes in the afternoon because there are no teachers to take these classes. Things were going on like this when the notification to pay exam fee was issued. That is when panic struck. We have exams in Nov and classes are yet to start properly,” said another student.

Student organisations have started demanding immediate action. Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) held a protest at 15 colleges across the state.

“First-year students come to college in large numbers every day, hoping for classes to be held. In contrast, a significant number of second- and third-year students have left classes and started short-term employment. Many students from poor and middle-class families travel 12 to 20 km every day, only to return disappointed since there are no classes,” said Kalyana Kumar, district secretary, All India Democratic Students’ Organisation. It has called for a voluntary class boycott Saturday.

On Friday, Sudhakar held a meeting with the law department. “Since some of the related cases are still sub judice, we wanted to take the department’s opinion on how to take this forward. However, it was inconclusive, and we will meet again Saturday. We are thinking of extending the term as syllabus is yet to be completed in many colleges,” he said.